


Silent Deku

by FireSlash



Series: Marvel's Dekuverse [1]
Category: Inhumans (Comics), Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Audience decides pairings, F/M, Friendly Katsuki, Izuku has powers of Black Bolt, Izuku pushes himself too hard, Izuku tries to prove himself worthy, Kinda, Mute Midoriya Izuku, Somewhat OP Izuku
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2019-10-10 08:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17422286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireSlash/pseuds/FireSlash
Summary: (Black Bolt Inspired AU!). All Izuku wants in life is to become a hero. However, his power causes a wave of destruction every time he makes even the smallest of noises with his mouth. As such, Izuku's aiming to be a hero without the aid of his voice. Sadly for him, sometimes the only thing that can stop a conflict is a simple word…





	1. IMPORTANT NOTICE

Hey everyone, Fire Slash here and I wanted to let you guys know some changes that'll be occurring throughout the story. I ended up realizing that there are two points in the fic which served as major plotholes: knowledge on Izuku's powers and Katsuki's rivalry with Izuku. First off, I decided to make Izuku's quirk known to everyone, except for his scream which he begins to tell others about in the third chapter. I also decided to make Katsuki a more friendly rival in the story. His role is to constantly nag Izuku about using his quirk to it's full potential, wanting to make a good rival out of him. I'd urge you to reread the three chapters posted so you can see this change in action. Anyways, this is Fire Slash signing out. See you next chapter :-). I'll be deleting this notice in about a week


	2. A Silent Origin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hey everyone, Fire Slash here and welcome to a brand new fic. If you follow me on FanFiction.net, you might have already read this story. For those of you who don't, well, it's here now :-). I've decided to post all my MHA fics to AO3.
> 
> Moving on, I wish to say a few things before we start: first off, this is a story about Deku having the powers of the Marvel hero Black Bolt. I wanted to let you all know that if it wasn't obvious enough. Secondly, this is one of four Marvel/MHA fanfics I have planned, one of them even being a Villain Deku AU. Third, should Izuku get One for All in this fanfic on top of his regular powers? Let me know in the reviews. Finally, pairings. Tbh, a romance subplot always seems to be a staple of my fanfics and I want to do one with this fic, especially considering Izuku's state. I have no idea who I want Izuku to be with though, so I'm letting you guys pick the girl. Anyone you want to see specifically? Let me know in the reviews.
> 
> Now, with that out of the way, let's get to the story shall we? Review and enjoy :-).

Society is cruel, a universal fact which never seems to change. Humans have always felt the need to judge one another, using another's shortcomings to justify their worth. They're willing to use anything, whether it be strength, appearance, wealth, or intellect to place themselves on a pedestal, all while they scoff at those who seemingly lack these 'grand' traits.

One can only imagine how the judgemental nature of society grew once humans began developing quirks. Quirks, innate superpowers eighty percent of the world's population are born with, became society's newest means of determining one's worth. If someone has a cool quirk, they'd be worshipped no matter how horrible of a person they were while those with 'lame' or 'useless' quirks were brushed off to the side.

Now, one's power didn't always make them respected. If they had no means to control their destructive power, they'd be treated like rabid animals needing to be put down. Sometimes, a random vigilante would do the honors. These people were below those with weaker quirks on a social level due to their unpredictability.

Finally, there were the people dubbed as 'quirkless.' Quirkless people make up twenty percent of the world. As the name implies, they have no abilities, their social power being miniscule. Whether it was better to be quirkless or have an unstable quirk is a topic still debated to this day.

For the first seven years of his life, Izuku Midoriya was classified as quirkless. While his classmates had developed their gifts while they were still in kindergarten, he never got his, causing him to be tormented relentlessly by his peers. His mother, worried about the fact his quirk has yet to manifest itself, ended up taking him to a local clinic where it was revealed he would be quirkless his entire life. This devastated Izuku. A kind boy, all he wanted was to be a hero, someone who uses their quirks to save others. The mighty hero All-Might being his idol, his desire to follow in his idol's footsteps was strong. Sadly, it seemed fate had other plans for the boy...or did it?

When Izuku reached the age of seven, his quirk finally manifested, and let's just say his life got much harder. Having developed slight superhuman strength and speed as well as enormous amount of superhuman endurance and flight, Izuku was ecstatic when he got his quirk, that is, until he opened his mouth. He was at home when he discovered his quirk. Running to his mother, he called out to her, only for all hell to break loose. Upon opening his mouth, an enormous shockwave escaped his lips, ripping his home in half. Though no one was harmed, the event managed to traumatize the boy for life. Not only was his power extremely unstable, if he were going to live with it, it meant he could no longer speak. For the next seven years of his life, the boy was forced to undergo intensive training to keep himself silent no matter the event. This included having to find a way to produce silent sneezes and coughs while also trying to find a way to avoid snoring. His endurance was pushed to his limits as well, for if he make any type of noise upon getting hurt, it could be catastrophic. To communicate, he was taught sign language. All of this was done in a laboratory designed to contain people who's quirks were unstable like his, a place where he spent most of his days. He even had to live there for a bit to master the art of silence.

Thankfully, him living in the laboratory was temporary. He was eventually allowed to rejoin society. Despite the doctors giving him the ok, Izuku's mother forced her son to not reveal the voice aspect of his quirk to anyone. The last thing she wanted was a villain kidnapping her son and using his quirk to harm others. It also didn't help that his quirk seems to be getting stronger as he got older.

0000

'Ugh, c'mon clock, hurry up!' Izuku thought to himself as he watched a clock. Today was a Saturday, the day before the weekend (in Japan at least. They don't have Saturdays off), and all he wanted to do was go home and research some quirks, a hobby he took quite seriously. Even though his power was unstable, his dream to be a hero has not died. He still had his other powers, so it wasn't like he had to rely on his 'quasar scream' to fight crime, the name his doctors gave the vocal part of his quirk due to the destructive power it held. It nearly destroyed the laboratory twice, a place capable of containing even All Might.

"All right, as you all know, you're all reaching the end of middle school," Izuku's teacher stated, seemingly finished with whatever it was he was talking about earlier. "Now's the time you all think about your futures. Eh, who am I kidding? All of you are planning on becoming heroes, correct?"

Upon saying that, most of the students began cheering in affirmation, some of them even displaying their quirks in a non-destructive manner.

"Hey teach, don't lump me into the same category as these crappy side characters," a boy with ash blonde hair scoffed. "I'm off to be the best damn hero you've ever seen."

"Hey man, don't do us dirty like that," one of Izuku's classmates muttered under his breath

"That's Katsuki Bakugo for ya," another student whispered to her comrade. "Rumor has it he's applying to U.A High school."

"Well, with an explosive quirk like his, he shouldn't have any trouble getting in," the student's comrade whispered back.

Katsuki Bakugo was a boy Izuku was familiar with, the two having practically grown up together. Katsuki possessed a powerful quirk, the ability to summon explosions from his palms, and an fiery attitude. With his power and attitude, Katsuki was someone Izuku respected. On the other hand, Katsuki's views on the boy were a bit complicated...

"Ah, right Katsuki, I forgot you were applying to U.A High School," the teacher stated, rubbing his head awkwardly. "You're surly aiming high."

"Damn right I am. I'll be the first student from this crappy school to get in and then I'll become a hero even bigger than All Might himself, mark my words!"

"Wait, isn't Izuku applying there as well?" A student asked, causing everyone to face the green haired boy in question. Noticing everyone's eyes on him, Izuku cringed, not liking the judgemental looks they were giving him. A few seconds went by, and still no one bothered to say anything.

"Could he can get into U.A?" One kid muttered under his breath. Excluding his voice, the rest of his quirk was common knowledge to everyone. The strength of his quirk however wasn't. Heck, even Izuku didn't know, not wanting to push himself too much. Doing so ends up burning his skin.

Having no response, he shot his classmates an embarrassed look. It was all he could do at the moment.

In the corner of his eye, Izuku could've sworn he saw Katsuki glaring at him.

For the rest of the class, Katsuki continued to shoot Izuku what seemed to be death stares, unnerving the boy. Eventually tired of the rowdy kid's actions, he decided to glance over his special notebook, one he used to keep track of all the quirks of current, retired, and upcoming heroes. If Izuku was going to become one in the future, he felt it was necessary to accumulate knowledge of those ahead of him. This way, he would be prepared to tackle anything that came his way.

It didn't take Izuku long to get caught up in his reading that he failed to take notice of the time. The seconds turned into minutes and the minutes into hours. Class was eventually dismissed, but Izuku didn't notice, that is, until Katsuki snagged his notebook.

"Yo, stupid nerd," Katsuki growled, holding the boy's notebook. Izuku simply eyed him with curiosity. "If you're going to apply to U.A, you better not act like a fucking Deku like you always do. After all, you're the only person I'd let apply from this school. Don't make me think twice..."

Remember how it was mentioned that Katsuki's view of Izuku was strange? Well, ever since he's seen what the boy could do with his quirk, Katsuki saw him as somewhat of a rival. The thing was, Izuku never seemed willing to use his voice or push himself to his limits when using his electron absorption. This infuriated the other boy to no end. Izuku was probably the only person who'd be able to challenge him in a fight, yet he always held himself back. To Izuku, he was glad to have Katsuki as somewhat of a friend, the angry boy having apologized to him for picking on him when they were younger.

'I'll try,' Izuku wrote down on a piece of paper, causing the other to scoff.

"You won't try. You will..."

0000

After Izuku's conversation with Katsuki, the boy began waking home, going through a relatively dark tunnel. Katsuki had decided to hang out somewhere else, otherwise the two would've walked together. As he made his way through the tunnel, he ended up stepping on some sludge before he could leave the place. Giving it a questioning look, the boy didn't notice a large slime monster was sneaking up on him, until it was too late. Wrapping itself around him, the monster smiled as it tried infiltrating the boy's body.

"Ah, just my luck, a disguise." The creature said to himself as it kept trying to possess the boy. "And one of a harmless schoolboy no less. Looks like I can finally get rid of that pesky hero."

Hearing this, Izuku began thrashing around, using all of his superhuman strength to free himself, catching the villain off guard. "Huh, you're stronger than you look. Sadly, you're not strong enough."

Applying more pressure, the sludge monster began overpowering the boy, all while he frantically tried escaping. Unfortunately, with him running out of oxygen and not being able to grip the thing, Izuku was losing the battle, something he knew.

'Should I use my quirk?' The boy asked himself as he continued to struggle. 'On one hand, I can definitely blow this thing back, but what about our surroundings? If I even whisper, I'll destroy everything in a mile radius.'

His vision starting to black out, Izuku realised he was just going to have to take one for the team. There was no way he was going to hurt innocent civilians.

'Sorry mom, looks like I'm not coming home,' A single tear sliding down his cheek, he waited for his death…

"TEXAS SMASH!"

...only for it to never come as the creature was blown off him by a powerful gust of wind.

'All Might?' Izuku asked himself, managing to catch the faint outline of his hero before passing out, the lack of air having caught up to him.

0000

"Hey, hey kid, get up."

Silently opening his eyes, the boy noticed his hero was gently patting his cheek, trying to wake him up. Eyes widening in amazement, Izuku leaped upwards, surprised to be face to face with his hero.

"Thank goodness you're awake," the American hero stated, sighing in relief. "I would've hated it if anyone got hurt because of me."

Izuku simply continued to stare at his idol, wanting to ask him so much. Unfortunately, All Might seemed to be in a hurry.

"Well, now since that's over, you should go home and rest up. I got a villain I need to bring in. I've already prepared an autograph in that burned notebook of yours. Until then, Plus Ultra!"

The hero then flew off before Izuku could even spell out a word using sign language. Remembering what All Might told him, the boy checked his notebook and sure enough, All Might had indeed signed an empty page.

Smiling, Izuku looked up at the sky, a new sense of confidence flowing through him. Seeing his hero in action practically nullified what Katsuki told him today, instead motivating him to continue down his path at becoming a hero.

When he got home, the boy wasted no time in developing a training and studying regime. If he were going to get into U.A, he'd need to be prepared.

0000

Ten months after Izuku's encounter with his hero, the boy was now standing outside U.A High school's campus. Despite having prepared for the exam and knowing exactly what was on it, the boy was still nervous. After all, if he were being honest with himself, his quirks outside of his quaser scream were somewhat lackluster while his control of his electron manipulation was mediocre at best. There were many people who outclassed him in terms of strength and speed. Either way, the boy wasn't willing to back down. Doing so would be worse than failing. At least if he failed, he could say he gave it a shot.

"Get out of the fucking way Deku! You're blocking the way!"

Recognizing the voice, Izuku immediately stepped out of his friend's way, having realized that he was indeed standing in an inconvenient spot. While most would be offended that their supposed 'friend' hardly acknowledged them, Izuku knew Katsuki's mind was somewhere else, being determined to pass U.A's entrance exam. After a few moments of staring at the building in awe, Izuku decided to enter as well, only to trip before he could even do so. Preparing to activate his flight, the boy was surprised when someone gently touched his shoulder, causing him to float. Looking to his right, he noticed a girl was keeping him afloat with what seemed to be some sort of telekinesis quirk. Or was it an anti-gravitation quirk? Eh, he'll have to find out later.

"And release." Upon saying that, the girl managed to release her hold on the boy, him landing safely on his feet. "Whew, it's a good thing I managed to catch you. Falling before the entrance exam would've been some serious bad luck."

Now, other than his own mother, his teachers, and the scientists who helped him control his quirk, Izuku has never officially spoken to a girl. As such, he began blushing in embarrassment, flashing her a quick 'thank you' smile.

"No problem. Well, good luck with the exam." And just like that, the girl seemingly left his life as quickly as she entered.

Deciding he wasted enough time making himself look like a bigger fool than he already was, the boy made his way inside the building.

0000

"WELCOME TO TODAY'S LIVE PERFORMANCE! EVERYBODY SAY HEY!" Famous hero and U.A Entrance exam host Present Mic shouted, using his sound based quirk to louden his voice. Much to his surprise, no one replied. "Well, that's cool my listeners. I'm here to present the guidelines for your practical, ARE YOU READY!"

Again, he was meant with another awkward silence. "Wow, tough crowd. ANYWAYS, this is how the test will go! You will conduct a ten minute long city landscape maneuver! Within this city, there will be fake villains, each worth different amounts of points!" As he said this, the screen behind him started lighting up before revealing the three 'villains,' aka, three different types of training robots. "Use your quirks to disable them by any means necessary."

Hearing this explanation make Izuku smile. He was glad the concept of the test was easy. The main challenge would be getting to the robots before anyone else did.

"Oh, cheating or injuring others is strictly prohibited, so if you do any of these things., YOU WILL BE ELIMINATED! And trust me, we'll know if you do."

Katsuki scoffed before throwing a playful jab at Izuku, the two being seated next to one another. "Guess you get to live for another day."

"ANY QUESTIONS!"

"Yes!" An formal looking individual with glasses said. "It was said there were no less than four varieties of fake villains on the handout. As the top hero academy in Japan, you should be ashamed of making such a careless error."

"Great point! There is a final villain, but they are worth zero points. I were you, I'd run if you encounter one. GOT IT!"

This time, he actually got a bit of cheers in response. "THEN BREAK A LEG EVERYONE! PLUS ULTRA!"

0000

After the briefing, Present Mic split all the test takers into four different groups and had them wait outside the mock city. While it sucked Katsuki wasn't with him, at least he didn't have to worry about the boy pressuring him to use his power.

Shaking his head, the boy continued surveying his competition, only to stop upon noticing a particular brunette, the same one who saved him from humiliation. He still had yet to thank her, though he could only tell her by using sign language. Did she even know sign language? Probably not, but it didn't hurt to try anyways.

"Halt! Can't you see she's trying to relax herself?" Turning around, Izuku found himself face to face with the same kid who shamed the school for leaving out the fourth 'villain.' "She's taking this exam seriously. If you want to get in this school, I'd recommend you do the same."

"Uh, what are you waiting for?" Present Mic asked the students before Izuku could respond. "The exam started like two minutes ago. Villains aren't going to wait for you. GO!"

Turning his attention back towards the city gate, Izuku was surprised to see everyone had already entered the building after Present Mic's announcement. Flashing a meek smile at no one in particular, the boy shot forwards, entering the city. Upon doing so, he attempted to scout for robots, only to notice that a large chunk had already been taken out.

'It hasn't even been five minutes yet,' Izuku whined to himself as he continued to search for robots. Though it took a few seconds, the boy eventually managed to find a one pointer, who at the same time noticed the wannabe hero. Activating its weapons, the robot walked forwards all while Izuku walked backwards, fear enveloping his body. The robot was a lot bigger than he expected it would be.

'Dammit, why am I so pathetic? It's not going to kill me. C'mon, I need to destroy it…'

Unfortunately, before he could strengthen his nerves, the robot was blown to smithereens by a feminine looking blonde boy.

"Thanks for the assist," the boy mockingly said, mumbling something to himself before ditching.

"You have five minutes left," Present Mic shouted, using his quirk to broadcast this information throughout the city. Cursing himself, Izuku dashed forwards, doing his best to find any robots left untouched. Sadly, no matter where he looked, he couldn't find any he could destroy for points.

'This can't be how it ends,' the mute thought to himself, continuing his frantic search. It was then that something caught his attention. Using his superhuman hearing, he managed to pick up the sound of a robot walking. Excitement filled his body, until he realised something was up. The robot sounded a lot larger than any of the others. His suspicions were confirmed when an enormous robot walked into view a few seconds later, it being taller than most of the buildings in the city.

'So this is the zero pointer,' the boy mentally noted as the rest of his classmates began running away. Izuku desperately wanted to do the same, but his body refused to move, paralyzed with fear. If the one pointer was scary, than the zero pointer was outright terrifying.

For what seemed like hours, the boy continued to stare at the robot as it slowly made its way forwards, everyone else doing their best to flee the scene. Izuku could've sworn he saw the boy from earlier giving him a look of disapproval.

"H-help."

His left ear twitching, Izuku focused his attention towards the area where the noise was coming from. Much to his surprise, the girl who helped him earlier was trapped under some debris, and the robot seemed ready to step on her. Time suddenly appeared to slow down as Izuku's body shot forwards. He had no idea what he was doing, but he knew that the girl was in danger and in need of his help.

As he continued moving forwards, Izuku tried coming up with a plan. He knew for a fact he couldn't dent that thing even with his superhuman strength, so fighting it didn't seem like the best option. Glancing at the rubble, he thought about just removing it and pulling the girl to safety, but again, his speed wasn't high enough to do so before the robot's foot landed on the area. Analyzing the area further, he noticed that the robot's height was tall enough that if he unleashed a quasar scream targeting it at an upward angle, he wouldn't damage anything else.

'Am I really going to go through with this?' Izuku asked himself, really not wanting to have to resort to his quasar scream. However, it was either he use it or the girl and him gets crushed. Mentally groaning to himself, he continued running forwards until he was between the robot and the girl.

Noticing him, the girl was about to tell him to leave, leave and to forget about her, only to be interrupted by a spectacular display of power.

"Back off." Releasing an almost inaudible whisper, Izuku released an immense burst of energy, one which obliterated the robot before it could crush the two, leaving no trace of its existence behind.

With the robot down, Izuku turned towards the girl and shot her a worried expression.

"Are you ok?" He tried asking her in sign language, only for his question to be ignored as the girl stared at him with wide eyes. One whisper, that was all the boy needed to destroy something as grand as the zero pointer. Never before has she seen anything quite like it. The same could be said about the other test goers who wore the same expression as the girl. The formal boy in particular made sure his eyes never left the 'mute.'

"I've never seen such power before," He muttered in awe. "And to think he held onto such power throughout the entire exam, only using it to save one girl the rest of us had abandoned. He is a true hero. If this not an exam but an actual villain fight, would I have done the same? ...Of course I would've!"

"And time's up!" Present Mic shouted, though no one was really paying attention to him. All eyes were on the boy who annihilated the zero pointer with what seemed to be little effort. Speaking of the boy, despite being completely distraught about not having scored a single point, he knew if he found himself back in time to when the exam first started, he still would've saved the girl no doubt, despite not earning any points himself. To him, it was simply the right thing to do...


	3. Pushing Past Limits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Hey everyone, FireSlash here and welcome to the second chapter of Silent Deku. Before we begin, I just have some stuff I wish to say. First off, thanks to all of you who have read the story. I can't believe so many of you actually like this story. It means a lot to me that I can entertain all of you. Second, in regards to giving Izuku One for All, I've decided that I'm not going to do so due to a good chunk of you giving me good reasons as to why I shouldn't. Also, there's something I want to do with Mirio that'll be cooler if he has AFO. Finally, ships are still being decided. Who do you want Izuku to be with? Let me know in the reviews. Currently, Momo is leading the pack with Jirou close behind.
> 
> With all that out of the way, let's get right into the story. Review and enjoy :-).

It is believed that what goes around comes around. Do a good deed and you'll receive a blessing in return. Do something terrible and something equally as bad will happen to you. If someone's looking for an example of this saying in action, all they'd need to do was look at Izuku. Despite him not having destroyed a single robot besides the zero pointer during U.A's entrance exam, the aspiring hero still managed to pass. How? Apparently destroying the robots wasn't the only means of scoring points. Upon aiding other examiners, one could earn the secret 'hero points.' Saving the girl with the gravity quirk winded up earning him sixty hero points, placing him at the top ten in terms of accumulated points. It was safe to say his acception was guaranteed as a result of him simply doing the right thing. Man did the waterworks turn on when he received the hologram of All Might telling him about his results.

Once the joy that came with being accepted started to die down, Izuku realized he had a problem: his powers. Having learned that the smaller robots had been destroyed by those with weaker quirks than his, the boy couldn't help but feel ashamed about his performance. Even if this weren't the case, Izuku still had the means to destroy them. In addition to his quasar scream and his superhuman physical attributes, he had the ability to absorb particles, allowing him to increase his physical attributes to immense levels, generate force fields, and fire said energy from his body. He could also manipulate matter somewhat, such as turning water into ice, but he hardly knew how to use such power.

With such power, one would expect him to not have freaked out during the exam. Sadly, using his particle absorption abilities took quite a toll on his body, heating it up to the point where his flesh began to burn. Seeing as the power was quite painful to use, the boy hardly relied on it. The test however ended up being a wakeup call for him to learn how to use said power without it harming him too badly. After receiving the results of his exam, Izuku began training everyday, doing his best to increase his endurance. He adapted the Dagobah Municipal Beach Park, a polluted beach near his home as his training spot.

This was what the boy was currently doing today. Having spent an entire hour blasting the trash around him, Izuku sat down on the sand, needing a break.

'I've managed to last an hour using my abilities to their lowest capacity,' Izuku thought to himself as he glanced around the beach. He never noticed it before, but with all the stuff he's destroyed, he's actually cleaned the beach by quite a lot. Softly smiling, he then looked at his hands, both being charred by his powers. 'It's fine for now, but I'll really need to step up my game if I want to be a pro-hero. My enhanced physique can't solve everything and there's no way I'm ever using my quasar scream. I want, no, need to be a hero without it. It's too destructive to use...'

"Aw, why'd you stop?"

'Huh?' Standing up, Izuku began surveying the area, not liking the fact someone had been watching him. When it came to playing around with his quirk, he preferred doing so alone, not wanting any spectators to possibly get hurt. The fact this person managed to escape being detected by his enhanced senses also bothered him. Turning around, he eventually found his spectator. Much to his surprise, the individual was a blonde female who seemed to be his age, perhaps a year or two older. She was currently giving him a sweet yet predatory smile, something which began to unnerve him to no end.

"I was having so much fun watching you blow stuff up. You were getting really into it, shame that you had to stop."

Hearing the girl pout, Izuku awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, not really sure what to say. His social skills weren't exactly good seeing as he's unable to speak and all. It didn't help that interacting with girls his age gave him more trouble compared to everyone else. Releasing a deep breath out of his nose, Izuku knew he had to give the girl some sort of response, not wanting to be rude.

"Uh, who are you?'' He asked her via sign language, only to notice the girl didn't seem to understand him, giving him a blank stare. Holding out a finger to signal for her to wait a few seconds, Izuku took out an index card and pencil from his pocket, two items he always carried around, and began to write. Upon finishing, he flashed it to her. 'Sorry about that, I'm mute so I can't speak. Who are you?'

"Himiko Toga's the name," the girl said with a wink, her predatory stare's intensity increasing. "And wowee, I never thought I'd meet a mute!~"

'Really?' Izuku thought to himself, wondering why the girl seemed so happy about him being mute. Then again, she seems to be the type of person who gets excited easily. "Nice to meet you. I'm Izuku. So, uh, why were you watching me?"

"Because I like destruction," Himiko bluntly told him, causing the boy to prepare himself in case something happens. The girl was creeping him out more and more, practically oozing with bad vibes. "Something about watching stuff getting blown to smithereens gets my blood rushing. Ever felt that way? As if there's something so immensely powerful that you just want to control it? How about desiring a way to mimic such power? Or maybe you wish said power was used on someone or something you dislike? Thinking about such things whenever an explosion goes off will get anyone riled up! So new friend, what's your quirk? Is it just those lasers? Or is there more to it?"

Watching the girl blush as she asked the last question, Izuku shuddered. If it wasn't known already, Izuku was now officially creeped out. As such, he decided to withhold some information when telling her about his quirk. "I can absorb particles and release them however I want."

"Wow, that's so cool!" The girl gushed before her face became uncharacteristically serious. "But I think you're hiding stuff from me." Izuku was about to hastily reply when Himiko's cheery personality came back full force upon feeling her phone vibrating in her pocket. Shooting the boy an apologetic look, she picked it up and began speaking to the person on the other side of the line, Izuku doing his best not to overhear the conversation.

"Hey...Uh huh… yeah… aw really… ugh, fine!" Ending the call, Himiko gave Izuku a small frown. "Well, it's been fun, but I got to go now. Don't worry though, we'll be meeting again soon. Bye! Hope you're as excited for our next meetup as I am.~"

Watching the girl walk away, only one thought flooded the boy's head.

'What a weird girl…'

0000

It's been two weeks since his encounter with Himiko and she was all he could think about. The way she spoke about destruction, the hungry stare she gave him, it all frightened him. He didn't realize it at the time, but the girl could've been someone extremely dangerous. Or he could be imagining things, both work.

'Well, there's no time to dwell on the past. It's time for school.' Indeed it was, but today was special in the fact it was his first day at U.A. Glancing at the school's entrance, the boy smiled. 'I still can't believe I got in…'

Walking inside, the boy began looking for classroom 1-A, finding it a few minutes later. Upon doing so, Izuku couldn't help but marvel at the sheer size of the door, it being at least twenty feet tall.

'It's probably that big to accommodate those with height altering quirks,' Izuku thought to himself as he continued to look at the door. After a few seconds of staring, the boy eventually steeled his nerves and forced himself to enter the classroom. Upon doing so, he noticed a huge argument was happening inside the room, it being between Katsuki and that formal boy he met during the exam. Like usual, Katsuki decided to do things his way, leaving an hour early to get to U.A. Why he did so, Izuku had no idea. All that mattered to him right now was the current dilemma going on.

'Great, I'm in a class where someone already dislikes me…'

"Excuse me! I ask that you take your feet off the desk this instant!" The formal boy shouted at Izuku's childhood bully turned friend. "It is extremely disrespectful to those who took the time to create it!"

"Pfft. Don't tell me what to do you filthy side character," Katsuki sneered, much to the formal kid's horror. "Who the hell are you anyways?"

"My name is Tenya Iida and I come from Somei Private Academy…"

"Somei? So you're some damn elitist? I'm going to enjoy crushing you."

"Crush?! You wish to become a hero with that attitude?" His eyes darting slightly to the right, Tenya noticed that Izuku had just arrived. Stepping away from the boy with the explosive quirk, he began speaking to the boy, having wanted to do so ever since he witnessed his performance at the entrance exam. "Ah, you're the boy from the exam, correct?" Izuku nodded his head slowly, feeling a lecture about proper test edicate coming his way. Much to his surprise, that wasn't the case. "Great! I must admit, I was quite surprised to see you managed to quickly deduce the hidden portion of the exam, something not even I could get. My name is Tenya Iida and I look forward to spending my next three academic years with you."

"Thank you. My name's Izuku Midoriya," Izuku introduced himself through sign language, happy to see the boy wasn't still upset at him. Katsuki continued to hang in the background, not liking socializing in general. "I hope we become close friends."

"Pardon me, but I don't speak sign language," Tenya said, regret lingering in his voice. It's times like these where the boy wonders why he still introduces himself using the silent language. "Could I ask you to write that down?"

Nodding, Izuku began to pull out an index card when he was interrupted by a beautiful black haired girl sitting in the back of the classroom.

"He says that his name is Izuku Midoriya and that he's glad to meet you."

"Ah, I see. Thank you miss…"

"Momo Yaoyorozu," the girl replied. "A pleasure to meet you."

'Looks like we got two rich kids,' Izuku joked in his head, taking note of their manner of speaking before turning his attention towards Momo. "Can I ask how you learned sign language? Usually only mute people like myself bother learning it."

"My parents own a large company which expands overseas. As their heir, I've been taught how to speak multiple languages including English, Chinese, Arabic, Korean, Spanish, Russian, and the sign language dillects which correspond to them."

"Ah. It's pretty cool that you know all these languages," Izuku signaled in response, somewhat shocking the girl. Usually whenever she told someone about her family, they'd hone into the part about her being rich. "It's also nice to know that I didn't learn this language for no reason."

The girl couldn't help but smile at Izuku's corny joke.

"Hey! Green hair… you're the boy that saved me!" Turning their attention towards the door, the three teens noticed the girl Izuku had helped enter the room. "Wow, I can't believe we're in the same class. Thank you for saving me… shoot! I never got your name."

"Izuku Midoriya," the boy said, introducing himself for the third time in a row. Unfortunately, he simply received another blank stare in response. Thankfully, Momo was there to save the day.

"His name's Izuku Midoriya, the boy next to him is Tenya Iida, and I'm Momo Yaoyorozu. Nice to meet you. Midoriya's mute, hence why he's using sign language."

"My name's Ochako Uraraka. I hope we become great friends," the girl introduced herself before turning towards Izuku. "You're mute? Huh, that's strange. I'm pretty sure I heard you whisper to the zero pointer 'back off' before destroying it."

"Midoriya destroyed the zero pointer?" Momo asked, surprised. Never before has she heard about the zero pointer being beaten by anyone who wasn't All Might.

"Yeah! He totally did!" Ochako replied, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "I was under some rubble when Midoriya ran to save me. The zero pointer was about to squish us when he completely evaporated it with no effort. All he did was whisper! It was incredible!"

"I can confirm that she's telling the truth," Tenya added. "I was there as well."

"I see. So the reason you cannot speak, it's because of your quirk, correct?"

Izuku nodded, unaware that the four had managed to catch the interest of another black haired girl, this one having earphone jacks attached to the sides of her head.

'Another person with a sound based quirk?'

"If you're here to socialize, than you might as well leave." The entire room fell silent at that, every student looking towards the source of the voice. Much to their surprise, a man wrapped in a sleeping bag was standing at the room's entrance, looking as if he had just awoken from a large nap. "I'm Shota Aizawa, your homeroom teacher for the next year. Understood?"

"Yes sensei!" Tenya diligently shouted as everyone looked at the strange man. Izuku had a feeling he's seen him somewhere before, but he didn't know where.

"Good. I'll be handing out your P.E uniforms. Go get changed and meet me at the back field. Just because it's your first day doesn't mean you don't have to work."

As his teacher began calling everyone up to receive their uniforms, Izuku began wondering what the strange man had in store for them.

0000

"Hmph, you all made it here in eight minutes…" Aizawa said, giving the class a disappointed look once everyone made it to the field. "We'll work on that. Now, the reason I brought you all out here is for a quirk assessment test."

"A quirk assessment test?" Ochako asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Aizawa simply nodded in response. "Yes. You've all had basic physical assessment tests back in elementary school, correct? These are nearly the same." Holding out a ball, the man looked at Katsuki. "Bakugou, you've placed first on the exam. What's your softball throw record?"

"56 meters," the boy shrugged before catching the ball the teacher lightly tossed to him.

"Now try with your quirk."

Upon hearing this, a vicious smile formed on the boy's face as he prepared to throw the ball. When he finally did, he made sure to fire off an explosion right as the ball left his hand, causing it to soar across the field. "DIE!"

'Die?' Izuku questioned his friend's of words as Aizawa pulled out a machine.

"705.2 meters...not bad," the teacher said with a shrug as the rest of the class watched the explosive boy with amazement.

"That's so cool!" A pink skinned girl shouted in excitement. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"Fun? You think being a hero is fun? Well, how about this: the person who scores the lowest on the assessment will be expelled?"

"Expelled? But we just got here! That's so unfair!" a short boy with grape looking hair complained. Izuku would later learn that the boy's name is Minoru Mineta.

"Unfair? According to the principle, us teachers can run our courses as we please. As a result, I'm sorry to tell you that for the next three years, U.A. will run you through the wringer. That's 'Plus Ultra.' Use your strength to overcome it all. So bring it…"

When Aizawa finished, most of the class looked at one another with uncertainty. Izuku however was having a different problem.

'A quirk assessment test? Great, of all the things that had to happen, it has to be this. There's no way I'm using my quasar scream for this, though I highly doubt it'll prove useful in this situation, nor can I use my absorption to its fullest potential. I haven't even reached my fullest potential since my body starts burning up before I can get anywhere near that level. Looks like I'll have to take the exam using as little of my power as possible.'

0000

After Aizawa's dramatic speech, the tests began. Despite the teacher having Katsuki show off his quirk through the softball throw test, the first test the class went through was a 50 meter dash. During said test, two students other than Katsuki and himself managed to shine. Tenya's quirk made the run a cakewalk, his legs having small engines he could use to run at superhuman speeds. As such, he managed to clear the run in 3.04 seconds. The other student who performed remarkably well was a girl named Tsuyu Asui, her quirk giving her all the abilities a frog has. Using her increased jumping capabilities, she was able to clear the run in 5.58 seconds.

"Don't get in my fucking way Deku," Katsuki snarled as the two began to take their places. Normally Izuku would have shot the boy a 'are you kidding me' look at this point, but he was more concerned with the exam. Absorbing the particles around him, small sparks of electricity began flying out of the boy's body, something Katsuki didn't notice.

"Go."

Upon hearing the signal to start, Katsuki fired off several explosions behind him, using it to launch himself across the field. He managed to receive a score of 4.13 seconds. He was so angry at the fact he didn't beat Tenya that he didn't notice Izuku managed to score higher than him, clearing the track with a time of 3.45 seconds.

0000

The next exam was just as simple, it being a test of everyone's grip strength. All everyone needed to do was grip the small machines given to them as hard as possible. The student who shined the most was Mezu Shoji, a boy with the ability to transform his six tentacles into any body part of his choosing. Turning all of them into arms, the boy managed to obtain a score of 540 kilograms. With everyone gushing over his score, no one was around when Izuku accidently broke the machine, absorbing a little too much energy.

'Crap…'

0000

Once the grip strength test was finished, the long jump test began. This time, no one really stood out in particular, nearly everyone at the same level physically. Tsuyu and Ochako had the best scores though, the former using her frog like anatomy to her advantage while the latter had help with her zero gravity quirk. Not wanting to use up anymore unnecessary energy after what he did during the last challenge, Izuku opted to go for the jump without the aid of his absorption powers, landing himself in the upper-middle portion of the group.

0000

The fourth test was repeated side step test. Nothing unusual happened except for the fact Minoru was the one to get the highest score. Apparently he can remove the grape like parts of his hair and have them attach to things. Using them as mini trampolines, he launched himself at a rapid pace, making Izuku realize the boy's quirk had no effect on its user.

0000

After a hard day's work, the class found themselves facing the final exam: the soft ball toss. In the end, no one was able to beat Katsuki's score except for Ochako. Using her quirk, she managed to launch the ball into the sky, it never being seen again. According to the machine Aizawa was using to keep track of their scores, Ochako received a score of infinity, something the brighter kids realized was impossible seeing as the ball would burn before leaving Earth's atmosphere.

Once everyone went, Izuku walked up to the plate, carefully going over how hard he wanted to toss the ball. As he did so, Katsuki glanced at the boy.

"How the hell did Deku even get into U.A?" The boy mumbled to himself as he continued watching the boy. Katsuki heard about Izuku's stumble during the exams and he wasn't pleased. The fact he managed to get into U.A without a single villain point was something he constantly questioned. After all, what was the point of coming to the school if he wasn't even going to show off his quirk?

Next to him, a red haired boy with the ability to harden his skin, Eijiro Kirishima took notice of the explosive boy's mumbling.

"Dude, didn't you see the replays of the entrance exam? The guy's got such a manly quirk."

"Quirk? So the idiot actually used it? "

"Uh, yeah. He destroyed the zero pointer-"

"He did what now?"

"Look," Kirishima pointed his finger at Izuku who finally decided how much power he wanted to put behind his throw. Winding his arm back, Izuku tossed the ball, blasting it with an energy blast before it left his hand. The ball flying through the field, the boy ended up with a score of 2069.27 meters.

'I think I overdid myself,' Izuku thought to himself as he looked at his now charred hand. 'Looks like I still have some work I need to do when it comes to controlling my absorption powers.'

"Oi Deku! What the fuck was that?!" Looking to his left, Izuku noticed Katsuki running up to him, fire in his eyes upon seeing Izuku use his quirk for the first time. Before he could pester him, several pieces of cloth wrapped itself around Katsuki's limbs, immobilizing him. His temper taking control, Katsuki tried using his quirk to blast the cloth away, only to freeze upon noticing his quirk wasn't working for some reason. "Hey, what gives?"

"I erased your quirk," Aizawa casually said, not affected by the boy's temper. It was at this moment Izuku realized who his teacher was, the underground hero known as Eraserhead. With extensive martial arts training and the ability to erase one's quirk just by looking at them, the man was a fearsome opponent. From what Izuku knew, the man didn't like attention, so why he was teaching at the most prestigious school in Japan was unknown to him. "Try another stunt like that and you'll most certainly be expelled."

"Tch, I wasn't even going to do anything," the boy grumbled. Being released from his hold, Katsuki shot Izuku one final stare before scoffing, happy that his rival was closer to becoming an actual rival.

Seeing as the boy wasn't going to do anything else, Aizawa began to address his class. "With that out of the way, it's time to reveal the results of the test."

With the press of a button, everyone's results and rankings were put on full display. Some were pleased with their score while others were not. In Minoru's case, he was tearing up as he found himself at the bottom of the pack despite his fantastic score on the repeated side step test. As for Izuku, he nearly fainted upon seeing his ranking.

'I'm first? How?' Yes, despite not using all of his power, Izuku managed to score the highest on the exam. He'd be more excited if Katsuki wasn't trying to kill him with his stare upon being beaten, though he was pretty sure he could feel another pair of eyes on him.

"Congrats Midoriya!" Ochako said, glad to see her friend had the highest score. "You're incredible!"

"I must admit, you're certainly someone special," Momo stated, giving her classmate a soft smile.

"Oh Yaoyorozu, you got second place," Ochako pointed out. "Good job."

"Thanks."

As everyone continued reacting to their scores, Aizawa let loose a small cough, grabbing everyone's attention. "Now if you're all done comparing scores, I have an announcement to make. As I said before, the person with the lowest score on the exam is to be expelled. However, since all of you seem to be at least somewhat competent, I'm not expelling anyone today."

"OH THANK GOD!" Minoru joyfully cried out, hugging the nearest person besides him. Unfortunately, said person was Katsuki who swatted him to the side with an explosion in response.

"Now go get changed. Your next class starts in ten minutes."

0000

The rest of the day came and went by quickly. After the quirk assessment exam, nothing of interest happened other than seeing which pro heroes would be teaching what class. Being the superhero fanboy he is, Izuku was practically in heaven, having a chance to meet some of his favorite heroes up close. If he wasn't effectively mute, the boy would either be mumbling facts about his teachers to himself or he'd be asking them twenty million questions.

Eventually, class 1-A found themselves waiting for their last class to start, it being the mandatory hero's basics course. Surprisingly, no one knew which hero would be teaching this class, that is, until said treacher bursted through the door, making a memorable entrance.

"I AM...COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE AN ORDINARY PERSON!" The booming voice of their teacher shouted as he entered the door. With the hero's bulging muscles and his costume, there was no mistaking his identity: he was the number one hero All Might. Seeing the legendary hero in person, everyone began getting excited.

"Is that really All Might?"

"That's definitely his silver age costume!"

"Settle down everyone!" All Might said, silencing everyone. It was times like these where Izuku hated his quirk. He desperately wanted to go all out fanboy mode right now, but because he couldn't speak, he couldn't ask the bagillion questions he had in mind. "Yes, the rumors are true! I, All Might, will be teaching the hero's basics course here at U.A! Today, we'll be going over combat training! However, such training must be done with style! You're hero costumes are labeled with the same number as your seats. Put them on and meet me at Ground Beta! PLUS ULTRA!"

Wasting no time, everyone began grabbing their costumes and prepared for the lesson.

0000

With his students attending their other classes, Aizawa made his way towards the principal's office, a small frown plastered on his face. Anyone who knows the man personally would tell you that if the underground hero had such a frown, there was something troubling him. Arriving at the door, Aizawa gently knocked on it, waiting for its owner to give him permission to enter.

"Come in."

Getting what he wanted, Aizawa swiftly entered the office and found himself face to face with a dog like creature in a suit.

"Greetings principle Nezu."

"Ah, if it isn't Aizawa himself," the principle said, taking a sip of his tea. "What can I do for you? Judging by the frown on your face, I can see something's troubling you."

"Sharp as always," Aizawa replied, taking a seat. "It has to do with one of my students."

"Which one?"

"Izuku Midoriya."

"The young man who destroyed the zero pointer? I must say, I'm impressed he managed to destroy it. Not many have done so before. His quirk is certainly powerful."

"His quirk is why I'm here," Aizawa admitted. "I held my quirk assessment exam today and I noticed Midoriya wasn't giving it his all. I planned on erasing his quirk and calling him out on not trying…"

"And?"

"And when I tried, nothing happened. He was still able to use his quirk."

"Hm, that is interesting," Nezu admitted. "Other than those with mutant quirks, there hasn't been an instance where someone's quirk wasn't suppressed by yours. Give me a bit and I'll see if there's something in my notes which might explain why this is the case."

"I appreciate it. If I'm to be guiding my students into becoming competent heroes, I'd like to know what exactly I'm dealing with."

"As you should."

0000

'Well, this is it,' Izuku thought to himself as he looked at his reflection. 'This is my hero costume.'

Currently, the boy had on a full green body jumpsuit with a red belt, elbow pads, boots, and knee pads. On the costume's arms and legs, several lightning bolts ran across it, all of them being linked to his chest.

In terms of equipment, he had a respirator attached to his costume, it being in case a situation where he might need one arises. The respirator wasn't the only piece of equipment the boy had on him though. On his arms were two small bracelets, both being see through, revealing the electricity stored in them. Upon playing with his powers, Izuku realized that he had an easier time absorbing energy when an energy source was near him, allowing him to go above his usual limit. As such, the boy had these custom bracelets added to his costume to give him a slight advantage when going up against those who prove themselves to be formidable. Finally, the costume had some pockets where he could store some index cards and pencils in case he needs to communicate with someone who doesn't know sign language (aka: most of the world).

'Enough hanging around here. I should go.' Taking a deep breath in, Izuku began walking out of the dressing room and made his way to the Ground Zero place All Might told them to go. Looking around, Izuku noticed the place looked exactly like the area where the entrance exams were held.

"Midoriya, I must say, you costume is quite impressive," Tenya said upon spotting his friend. The boy was dressed in a costume which seemed to make him look like a robot, making Izuku not realize his friend's identity immediately. Once he did, Izuku took out an index card and began writing.

"Thanks, yours looks good as well," the card read once, making Iida smile under his helmet.

"Wow guys, your costumes are so cool," Ochako gushed as she and Momo walked towards them. Seeing the two girls caused Izuku's face to turn a bright shade of red. Ochako was wearing a skin tight suit while Momo's costume left little to the imagination. How such a costume was allowed to be worn, he had no idea…

The boy was desperately hoping for something to happen so that he didn't have to look at the girls any longer. Thankfully, said distraction came in the form of All Might who after realizing everyone was ready, began the activity.

"Alright, as you all know, being a hero often means you'll be fighting bad guys! As such, you'll need to learn to defend yourselves. I've split you all into ten teams of two. Two teams will go head to head at a time, one serving as the heroes and one serving as the villains. The villains will be in charge of safeguarding a bomb inside a building. The heroes on the other hand will need to retrieve said bomb before the timer runs out. Any questions?"

"How do the heroes retrieve the bomb?"

"Are we we going to get expelled like with Aizawa sensei?"

"How will teams be chosen?"

"Isn't this cape fantastic?"

"Hold it! To retrieve the bombs, all the heroes need to do is touch it," All Might said before holding up a large strip capture tape. "Both the heroes and villains will be getting these strips of tape. Tie them around your opponent and they'll be eliminated from the battle. Also, no one's getting expelled."

Everyone but Izuku released a sigh of relief at the fact no one was being expelled, the boy in question unable to do so due to his quirk.

"Teams will be chosen through lottery!" All Might continued, pointing at a computer behind him with all the student's names listed. Pressing a button, the computer began shuffling the teams. Once it finished, Izuku immediately looked at the listing, hoping that he wouldn't be battling Katsuki. He ended up lucking out in terms of partners though, Ochako being his partner instead.

"Wow, we're on the same team. It must be fate! I'll be counting on you."

"Thank you," Izuku wrote on a flash card, still unable to look at her. Glancing over, he noticed that Katsuki was paired up with Tenya. Poor guy. He had to deal with his shenanigans...

"Now that teams have been made, it's time to see which ones will go head to head!" Pressing the button again, All Might had the computer randomize the matches. When Izuku saw who he was up against, his heart dropped. Not only was he going up against Katsuki, the boy giving him a sinister look upon seeing the lineups, but their match was first.

'Why does the universe hate me?'

0000

Once the matches were determined, the first one began. The villains had a ten minute head start to come up with a plan, something which Tenya wanted to use.

"The bomb's paper mache, so that's a relief. All right, here's what I think we should-" Tenya began speaking, only for Katsuki to cut him off.

"I don't give a shit about what you think. I'm going after Deku."

"And leave the bomb unguarded? That seems like a horrible plan."

"You'll be here to guard it, won't you dumbass? This is something I will do! Deku finally decides to use his quirk, but he's still holding back. I just need to give him one final push..."

"While I admire the care you show for your friend, going in without a plan will only lead to failure. Teamwork here is import-"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK!"

Meanwhile, as the 'villains' were doing their thing, Izuku and Ochako were outside the building, trying their best to come up with a plan. Well, Izuku was the one making a plan, Ochako wasn't the one who liked it.

"You can't face that guy alone!" The girl exclaimed. Izuku's plan was for her to leave him and retrieve the bomb while he dealt with Katsuki alone, knowing his childhood friend was going to focus on him. "He's mean, aggressive, and unpredictable! There's no telling what he's going to do to you."

"I know, but his aggressiveness is our key to victory," Izuku wrote down, wanting to also mention that he wasn't that bad. He ended up not saying this as it would take up more time. He'll just let her know later. "We need to take advantage of it or else we won't win."

"But what about you?"

"I've been put through worse," Izuku admitted, thinking back to all the painful tests he went through at the lab. "I need you to trust me when I say I got this under control."

"...Alright, I trust you. Just promise me that you'll surrender if things get too rough out there, ok?"

"Ten minutes are up! Hero team, you may now search for the bomb!"

Nodding his head, Izuku gave her a small smile. "Let's do this."

0000

Entering the building, both teens noticed how dark the place was, something they didn't like. Normally this would prove to be quite the hassle, but with Izuku's superior senses, the darkness wasn't as dangerous as it seemed. Stopping briefly, the boy turned all of his attention to his ears as he began scouting for any signs of activity.

"The bomb seems like it's on the fourth floor," Izuku wrote down. "I can hear someone storming down from there, most likely Katsuki. We should keep moving."

Wondering how was it that Izuku was able to write so fast, Ochako followed her teammate through the building, him serving as her guide. For a while, the two were able to navigate the building without much problem. Unfortunately, all good things must end as after a few minutes, Izuku's eyes widened with fear. Ochako was about to ask him what was wrong when he tackled her to the ground, a large explosion having gone off. Looking up, both teens saw Katsuki in all his glory staring at them, upset his shot had missed. With superhuman speed, Izuku brought Ochako and himself back to their feet and gently pushed the girl the other way, letting her know this was where they split up. Though a bit hesitant, seeing her partner give her a shaky yet affirmative smile motivated her to go.

"You have quite the quirk there Deku," Katsuki growled, edging closer to the boy. Out of instinct, Izuku backed up a bit. "Beating the zero pointer, coming first on the quirk assessment test, all of that's pretty impressive, but GOD DAMN I HATE THAT YOU REFUSE TO USE IT!"

Katsuki waited for a response, only to remember a crucial detail about the mute. Continuing to stare at the boy, he growled upon witnessing him enter a battle stance, his body still shaking like a leaf. "Tch, you still fight even though you're scared. You've been like that ever since we were kids… but are you actually going to rise up to the challenge this time?!"

Rushing forwards, Katsuki prepared to strike the boy with an explosion, only to gasp in surprise when Izuku managed to stop his attack before judo throwing him to the ground.

'Kacchan… you're really adamant about me using my power...' Izuku thought as he watched his friend stand right back up. Rushing forwards, he attempted to strike his target again, but Izuku managed to weave out of the way in time. 'Your quirk… it's amazing. Mine? I can't even use it to its fullest potential without either killing others or myself. It's for this reason I hid mine for as long as I could… and it's the reason why I need to defeat you…'

Watching as Katsuki rushed towards him again, the boy avoided a blast aimed for his face before retaliating with a powerful left hook to his opponent's stomach, sending him flying across the room.

'I need to prove that I can be a hero without using all of my destructive power…'

"Dammit! You hit hard, but I won't go down!" Rushing towards him again, Katsuki prepared to release another explosion, causing Izuku to take a defensive position. The boy however wasn't prepared for what happened next. When he expected Katsuki to release the explosion, the boy only released smoke, blinding him. Drowned in his own confusion, he failed to detect Katsuki leaping over him until it was too late. Landing behind him, the boy struck his palm into Izuku's back before firing off another explosion, this one sending him flying. Before he could crash down, Katsuki was on his tail, striking him with another attack. Looking at his opponent, Katsuki growled in anger. "You're still holding back Deku. FIGHT ME AT FULL POWER!"

Quickly standing up, Izuku braced himself for the next explosion, only to be met with smoke again. Briefly wondering where his opponent was, he would soon get his answer when Katsuki struck his rib-cage with another explosion, hurling him across the room.

'Damn, he's too strong. Looks like I'll need to resort to plan B,' Izuku thought to himself as he watched Katsuki rush towards him. Absorbing some of the energy given off by his bracelets, he shot Katsuki straight in the chest, stopping his attack and knocking him back by quite a lot. His original plan was to hold off Katsuki while trying to outsmart him, trapping him with the capture tape once the boy made a fatal error. Sadly, it wasn't going as planned, so Izuku had to use a different strategy. Knowing full well Katsuki's quirk was purely melee, Izuku's plan involved him fighting at a distance before going in for the capture once his opponent was worn down. However, he has to remember that he can't keep blasting him forever. Even with the bracelets, his absorption powers were still limited, always having the possibility of burning his skin if pushed to a certain level. As such, he needed to make this quick.

Absorbing more energy from his bracelet, Izuku fired another blast at Katsuki, knocking him back. Not giving him any breathing room, Izuku fired again, only this time, his opponent was prepared, rolling out of the way. Jumping back to his feet, Katsuki barely managed to avoid the next blow.

'He's trying to keep me back,' Katsuki angrily thought to himself as he dodged another blast by ducking. 'He knows my quirk lacks range...damn him!' Avoiding yet another one of Izuku's attacks, the boy glanced at his right arm, it being covered with a grenade like gauntlet. 'He's using more and more of his quirk, but I need him to go all out. Looks like it's time.'

"You know Deku, you're pretty smart," Katsuki sneered at him. "Trying to fight me at a range, it would've worked on anyone with a similar quirk, but you're facing me! I've prepared for this!" Pointing his gauntlet at him, Katsuki placed his hand on what appeared to resemble a grenade pin. "If U.A made this the way I told them to, this should blast the hell out of you!"

Glancing at the gauntlet, Izuku's eyes widened in horror as Katsuki began using his quirk. He didn't know how, but the suit was going to amplify his abilities.

"DIE!" Aiming slightly to the left of the boy, Katsuki pulled the pin, unleashing a massive burst of explosive flames, completely engulfing Izuku and destroying the wall behind him. The blast kicked up quite a lot of smoke, not allowing Katsuki to see his opponent, but since he couldn't hear him, the boy believed he had won, only for his eyes to widen as he saw Izuku on his knees, arms crossed in an X and his body glowing. "A-about fucking time…"

Standing up, Izuku winced in pain as he felt his body burning up. When he saw the flames heading towards him, he knew they had enough power to knock him out. Not willing to lose, he absorbed as much energy as he could and created a force-field, it taking the majority of the attack's force. Sadly, doing so caused him to go quite above his limit, hence why steam was coming out of his body now. In addition, he was stuck absorbing energy until the end of the battle, it keeping his body conscious. If he stopped, the enhancements it gave him would go away, causing him to pass out in fatigue.

'I need to get to the bomb before I'm forced to stop,' Izuku thought to himself as he continued to look at. 'Which means I need to end this now!'

Fighting past the pain, Izuku shot towards Katsuki with immense speed. Before his opponent could even react, the boy wrapped the tape around his waist, eliminating him from the battle.

"KATSUKI BAKUGOU IS ELIMINATED! FIVE MINUTES REMAIN!" The voice of All Might echoed around the building via intercom.

Briefly glancing at the now defeated Katsuki, Izuku rushed ahead, wincing as he felt his skin begin to char up again.

0000

While Katsuki and Izuku were duking it out, Ochako was desperately trying to get to the bomb. Initially, her plan was to sneak past Tenya and lightly tap the bomb, but after hearing his hilarious attempt at acting evil, she giggled, alerting him of her presence. The two then began to have their own brawl, with Ochako aiming for the bomb, only to fail as Tenya either moved it away before she got to it or get moved herself by the speedster. Not only was her quirk ill suited to fight against people with speed enhancing quirks, but Tenya even predicted her arrival, removing anything she could use her quirk on and possibly turn into a weapon. It didn't help that she was constantly worrying about Izuku, especially after hearing that huge explosion a few minutes ago. Heck, even Tenya sounded worried for a second before getting back into character.

"Give it up hero," Tenya theatrically told her, causing the girl to have to hold back a giggle. "You are no match for the evil I possess!"

"KATSUKI BAKUGOU IS ELIMINATED! FIVE MINUTES REMAIN!"

'Dang, Midoriya will be coming any minute now,' Tenya thought to himself. 'I need to speed this up.'

"Nothing personal, but I need to finish this." Rushing forwards, Tenya prepared to strike his opponent with a powerful roundhouse kick, only to wince in pain as he was struck by something. Both teens looking behind them, they noticed Izuku was at the door, looking to have fired a blast of energy at the 'villain.'

"Midoriya, you're ok!" Ochako shouted in glee, glad that Katsuki didn't burn him to death.

"I'm glad to see you're fine as well," Tenya genuinely said. Truth be told, the way Katsuki talked about wanting to go after his friend made the boy worry for his safety. "But as the last surviving member of my team, I cannot let you win."

Nodding, Izuku got into a battle stance, prepared to fight. Seeing this, Tenya shot forwards, going for another roundhouse kick. He was hoping to use his superior speed to best Izuku, but much to his surprise, the boy managed to block the attack with little effort, moving just as fast as he did. Not letting the boy get any breathing room, Tenya tried socking him in the face, only for Izuku to sidestep out of the way before throwing a punch of his own, one which Tenya blocked. From there, the two began trading blows, Izuku keeping up with Tenya's speed.

"Impossible! You scored lower than me in the 50 meter dash, so how is it that you're able to keep up with me?!" Tenya asked as the two continued to fight. It was then that the boy noticed something about his opponent. Each time he blocked Izuku's strikes, he felt the immense heat his body was giving off even with the thickness of his costume. In addition, the boy's face was burnt and cracked, blood trickling down from all the charred patches. Finally, a blue aura was surrounding him, something which he noticed when the boy completed the 50 meter dash himself. Compared to the one surrounding him during the 50 meter dash, this one was more prominent. For someone as smart as Tenya, it didn't take long to figure out what was going on. 'He's pushing himself, using his quirk to increase his physical abilities. He's doing so even though it's hurting him. Why? Is he that desperate to win?'

"Claimed!" Looking back, Tenya could only watch in horror as Ochako hugged the bomb, winning hero team the point.

"HERO TEAM WINS!" All Might shouted, much to the speedster's despair.

'How could I make such a careless error?' Tenya asked himself as Ochako ran up to Izuku, the two congratulating one another. 'Was that part of his plan? Distracting me so Uraraka could get the bomb? Midoriya… you're amazing, but mark my words! This'll be the last time I lose to you!'

As Tenya was in his own little world, Ochako finally realized the condition her friend was in. "Hey, are you ok?"

Izuku shot the girl a thumbs up and a small smile, assuring her that he was fine despite the amount of pain he was feeling at the moment. With the bomb having been secured, Izuku decided that now would be the best time to stop using his powers. Deactivating them, the blue aura disappeared as he collapsed on the floor, entering a state of unconsciousness…


	4. Self Discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Hey everyone, Fire Slash here and welcome to the next chapter of Silent Deku. Before we begin, I want to say a few things: first off, thanks to all those who've favorited, followed, red, and/or reviewed this fic. I appreciate that so many of you have given this story a shot. Now, there have been a few reviews expressing dislike for the fact Izuku in this fic isn't as brave as he should be seeing as he has powers. Don't worry, ya'll have been heard :-). This chapter will begin Izuku's road to bravery. Expect him to express the same amount of courage as the actual Black Bolt between the Sports Festival and the Summer Camp training arc. Oh, for those of you who are curious as to how powerful Izuku is, he's as powerful as Black Bolt. He just has some mental barriers preventing him from being able to handle all his power, hence the burns in the last few chapters. Black Bolt's strength is based on how much electrons he absorbs. His base is 1 ton and his max is 60 tons. They also get stronger based on his emotions. Izuku's functions similar to that and seeing as he's not emotionally healthy due to past events, his power has been reduced as a result. His voice however is at it's maximum power. Last thing I want to say is that you guys should follow my IG (Fire_Slash_Fanfiction). I'd love to speak with you guys there. Updates as to my progress with my fics are also posted there.
> 
> Anyways, with all that out of the way, let's get right to the story. Review and enjoy :-).

Five years ago

Location: Unknown

A nine year old Izuku collapsed on his bed, notable wounds plastering his body. The wounds weren't anything new seeing as it was all a part of his training for the past two years. The night after he discovered his power, he accidentally blew up the house again in his sleep. How? Apparently snoring can trigger his quasar scream. After that fiasco, the boy's parents took him to their local doctor, wanting to see if there was a way to prevent him from triggering his deadly voice. His doctor's response was to send him to the government runned Q.T.F (quirk training facility). Q.T.F was a facility meant to help kids with uncontrollable quirks obtain mastery over them. The place has had outstanding success in what they do, but the methods weren't considered to be the most humane means. Of course, such knowledge was kept out of the public eye, which was the only reason the two parents ever agreed to send their child to such a place. If they had known better, they would've sent him elsewhere…

Unfortunately, with the destructive nature of his quirk and how difficult it was to control it, his training was way more intense than anything the other kids had to go through. Each day, his pain threshold was pushed to its limits as he learned how to stay silent in the face of pain. To avoid making noises in his sleep was intense in its own right as he had to learn how to deal with the mental barriers a staff member with a powerful telepathy quirk installed into him. Martial arts were also largely focused on as a way to teach him how to use his enhanced senses to their full potential. With his particle manipulation however, less emphasis was placed on learning to master them as they really weren't posing a problem. The boy got the basics down less than a month after being in the facility. Well, he wasn't even in the main facility. He actually had to be shipped off to a small island due to the fact he could easily blow up the lab even with it being decked out to handle powerful quirks. His was just that strong.

Mentally groaning, the boy prepared to fall asleep, wanting to gain as much energy as he could before the next day of training, only for the sound of two people conversing to interrupt him.

"So, how's the kid?" One of the female scientists asked her comrade.

"He's making decent progress," a male voice responded. Being the only child living in the lab, Izuku knew they were talking about him. "He may be able to return home in a few months, though something concerns me... "

"What is it?"

"We've done a recent estimation as to how much his powers can increase. As you know, a full fledged scream could easily destroy this island. I'm actually surprised he hasn't done so already. Kid's got determination."

'I can?' This was news to Izuku. While he knew he could cause major destruction, the fact he can blow up an island was impressive in its own right.

"So how much of an increase are we talking about when he reaches adulthood?"

"Well, he'll actually peak in highschool like most of his kind-"

'I can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing…'

"But when he reaches that point, we're talking a drastic change in power. At that point, All Might himself will be nothing but a fly compared to him."

"You're joking, right?"

"No. If he ever master his particle absorption, he'll be almost as physically strong as All Might. That's nothing compared to the other part of his quirk though. With one shout, he'll have the ability to easily destroy the planet. We're talking about a brand new rank of power. The first ever SS rank."

"...Damn."

"Damn indeed. When he leaves, we'll need to monitor him. If he turns to the side of villainy, we'll need to put him down."

"How the hell would we do that? If what you're saying is true, he'll be the strongest person in the world…"

"...That's something we'll need to figure out."

As their voices began to die down, Izuku was left to reflect on the news he had just heard. Powerful enough to split a planet? Just how dangerous was he?

00000

Jolting upwards, Izuku immediately began to survey his surroundings, having just woken up from unconsciousness. A few glances was all it took for the silent hero-in-training to realize he was at U.A's clinic.

'What am I doing here?' The still groggy boy asked himself. Rubbing his eyes, he began waking himself up, the memories of his fights with Bakugou and Iida replaying themselves in his head. 'Oh… that's why...'

Rolling over on his bed, he ended up seeing that someone had left a note for him. Picking it up, he began reading it.

"Deku," it started, immediately giving away who wrote the letter. "You managed to catch me off guard with how fast you were. I didn't expect it with how little you use your damn quirk. You're using it more, and I'm actually fucking proud of you. I know that you're still holding back though, so I swear I won't lose again until you go all out. Who knows, maybe one day I'll see that infamous voice of yours. I still think I could fucking take it!"

The note ended with the boy's name being written on the bottom. Seeing this, Izuku couldn't help but smile at the compliment. Katsuki wasn't one who gave them out freely.

Wincing in minor annoyance, the boy began to stand up, having had enough of sitting down, only to be hit in the head by a cane, causing him to reflexively sit back down.

"Hey! Who said you could leave?" The voice of Recovery Girl said, suddenly materializing in front of him. How Izuku didn't notice her before despite having superhuman senses was something he didn't understand. "While it seems you've fully recovered, I still need to make sure nothing is out of place. Stay still for a second. It should be over quickly."

True to her word, the checkup didn't take too long. All she really did was check to make sure everything healed perfectly. With only his hero costume being damaged after the healing process, she had no reason to keep him here any longer.

"Alright, you can go now. There's a bathroom here you can use to change into your school uniform. Just be careful in the future. I've already had you in here twice."

"Thank you," Izuku signed to her, him only doing so because all his index cards were also destroyed in the fight.

"You're welcome," the youth heroine responded, shocking the boy. "What? I'm a nurse. It'd be wise for me to understand all potential patients, even those who can't verbally speak. Anyways, off you go now. I have stuff to do."

Shooting her a smile, Izuku quickly ran into the bathroom to change out of his hero costume. Upon finishing, he began to make his way to classroom 1-A. He not only left his bag there, but he had homework that needed to be done by the next day. The last thing he wanted was to anger his pro-hero teachers on the second day of classes.

0000

"Oh hey, he's back," a muscular boy said as Izuku walked into the classroom. Upon entering, he noticed that a few of them were still in the classroom. Tilting his head in confusion, the boy couldn't help but wonder why they were still around. School ended a while ago, so shouldn't they be home by now?

From the back of the room, Momo spotted her friend, smiling upon seeing that he was fine. "Ah! Midoryia, you're awake."

"What's going on here?" Izuku signed to the girl.

"They decided to stay back and compare results. Apparently they were inspired by you."

Izuku pointed at himself in a questioning manner, not believing what the rich girl had told him.

"Hell yeah, you were beyond manly out there!" A red haired boy ecstatically told him, eagerly standing up so he could move closer to the boy. "You blocked Bakugo's massive explosion like it was nothing and matched Iida in speed!"

"You were all over the place," a pink skinned girl with horns said with the same energy as the red haired boy, this girl being the same one who had angered Aiwaza during the quirk assessment test. "Ducking, blocking, and punching like nothing!"

"Well, while it certainly wasn't fabulous-" a blonde kid began to say, only to be cut off by the pink haired girl.

"So cool! Ah, I never introduced myself. I'm Mina Ashido."

"I'm Ejiro Kirishima," the red haired boy from earlier said, jumping back into the conversation.

Mot missing a beat, the blonde kid decided to make his presence known. "I am the magnifique Yuga Aoyama."

"And I'm Rikido Sato," the muscular boy said with a smile, contradicting his rather intimidating stature. "Nice job out there. You really kicked butt!"

'Thanks,' Izuku wrote down. He was about to write something else, only for the sound of the classroom door opening to catch his attention instead.

"So, what kind of sweets do you like?" A blonde boy with black streaks in his hair asked Ochako as they walked into the classroom together. It didn't take a rocket scientist to notice he was trying to flirt with her. This didn't stop Ochako from answering, unaware of the context behind the question.

"I like mochi…" the girl innocently muttered under her breath, trying to think of what else she enjoyed eating. One glance at the green haired boy was all it took to make her forget about her conversation with the other boy.

"Hey! You're awake!" Ochako stated, rushing towards him. Izuku honestly had to back up a bit so he could get in a comfortable position again. The girl seems to not know what personal space means, though he couldn't get mad at her for this. He'd rather have people invading his personal space than them ignoring him like in middle school. "How are you? Are you still hurt?"

'I'm fine,' Izuku wrote down, rubbing his head in embarrassment. In the background, he noticed the boy Ochako left sigh in disappointment. Eventually, the boy made his way to Izuku with a friendly smile.

"Yo, I'm Denki Kaminari," the boy said. "You really kicked a lot of ass out there. Just… try and save some for the rest of us, alright…"

Seeing the confused glance being shot at him by Izuku, Denki couldn't help but let loose a snicker. "Haven't you noticed the attention you've been getting by the girls man? You got Yaoyorozu and Uraraka hanging around you and it hasn't even been a day."

Such a thought took a bit to register in his head, but when it did, his brain began to shut down. How was he supposed to respond to this?

Thankfully, Momo was there to save the day, though not intentionally. "It's getting pretty late. Midoryia, would you like to walk home with me?"

"Oh! Can I join?" Ochako asked excitedly, eager to bond with her new friends.

"I don't see why not," Momo replied, Izuku nodding his head in agreement. In the background, he noticed Denki winking at him, causing him to rub his head in embarrassment.

With a few exchanges of goodbyes, the three friends left the classroom, eager to get home.

"What an interesting guy," Mina said to herself, something her friend Ejiro managed to hear.

"Slow down girl, it's only been a day."

"It's nothing like that," Mina replied. "It's just that something about him feels familiar."

"Familiar?"

"I don't know how to explain it," the girl said with a shrug. "It's just a feeling I got."

0000

After walking with his new friends, Izuku made his way to the nearest subway station. Taking a seat inside the train, Izuku rolled a hand over his hair as he began diving into his own world. The words of his classmates, while flattering, really got him thinking about the hero he wanted to become. Everyone saw a powerful and resourceful Izuku who could even beat Katsuki in a fight, but the mute didn't feel this way about himself. What he saw was a coward who couldn't fully control his powers. Take the entrance exam as an example; he froze when a one pointer noticed him. He even refused to use the electron absorption aspect of his quirk all because he didn't want to hurt himself. Sadly, the risk of injury was a part of being a hero and he knew that if he didn't change, he'd have to look for a different career path.

'I need to be braver,' Izuku thought to himself. 'If not for me, then for those who will rely on me as a hero.'

Rubbing his chin, Izuku began thinking of how he would go about doing such a thing. Immediately, his mind flooded back to All Might and the fact he almost always had a large smile plastered on his face. According to an old interview, he smiled to promote a sense of security in both himself and the people he was saving.

'That's a good start…' Continuing his thought process, Izuku realized that part of the reason he lacks confidence was due to his quirk. Throughout his entire life, he was told that he was a danger to society if he used it to its full potential. Not using it however made him useless. The thing was, he could use some of his quirk, but his particle absorption was painful to use. Sadly, that wasn't an excuse to not bother using his power. If he was going to be a hero without his voice, he needed to utilize all the tools at his disposal. 'How would I go about training? Dagobah Municipal Beach Park? Nah. I could get caught for using my quirk illegally. I lucked out last time. There's also that one girl I met there who gives me the creeps. Not sure if she's a frequent visitor…''

Digging deep into his mind, Izuku tried finding a place he could train at without any issues. Eventually, his mind settled at the faux cities where the U.A entrance exams were held. During homeroom, Aizawa mentioned that as long as a class wasn't being held there, students were allowed to run a simulation of the exam to help with their training. Head of the support course Power Loader would be the one monitoring their usage of the area, so it wasn't like he would be unsupervised. He also had a score to settle with the exam, so using it as a means of training would definitely help with his confidence in regards to his utter failure in getting even a single point during the exam. 'Tomorrow I'll ask Power Loader about using the faux city.'

Leaning against his seat, Izuku smiled to himself. No longer will he be afraid, it was time for him to make a ruckus…

0000

The next day of class started simple enough. Aizawa, having seen a recording of everyone's mock battles, critiqued his students on their performances. Katsuki got scolded for his recklessness, something the explosive blonde was angry about. Meanwhile, Izuku got praised for utilizing his quirk, but was told to work on not damaging himself.

Soon after, the man announced that the class needed to elect a class representative. As everyone was eagerly volunteering themselves, Izuku stayed in the background, trying to avoid attention. While he would love to be on the committee, there as a small thing called being mute that was preventing him from even bothering to apply for the position. Eventually, Tenya suggested a more democratic approach, which was fine by Izuku.

'Hm, who should I vote for?' The boy thought to himself. There were two people he felt would be best for the position; Momo and Tenya. Momo was without a doubt the most intelligent person in the class, but he didn't know how well she could deal with stress. Tenya, while not as bright as Momo, was definitely an intellectual person, but was a bit stiff. This could work in his favor though as he would be better at keeping the rest of the class in check. Shrugging, he eventually decided to put both their names on the paper. Worst comes to worst, his vote wouldn't count. Hopefully there wouldn't be a tie between them.

Once the votes were casted, Iida began putting up a tally system on the whiteboard to keep track of how many votes everyone received. As expected, a good chunk of the class voted themselves. How else would someone explain how Mineta, the person already designated as the class pervert, received a vote? Izuku ended up getting caught up with watching the amount of tallies Momo and Tenya received that he didn't notice the fact he received six votes himself.

"It seems Midoryia will be our president while Yaoyorozu will be our vice president," Tenya stated, causing Izuku to perk up.

'Huh? Who voted for me?'

"Who the fuck voted for Deku?!" Katsuki yelled, vocalizing Izuku's thoughts. "He's fucking mute!" Ok, Izuku had to admit he was right there. Why vote for a mute?

"Better a mute than a ticking time bomb," Denki snarked, causing the other blonde to stare at him.

"I'll fucking kill you!"

"My point exactly."

"As much as it pains me that I was not elected, I wish the two of you the best of luck," Tenya said as an attempt to prevent Katsuki from doing anything rash. Thankfully, it ended up working.

"Thank you," Momo stated with a bow, Izuku nodding with agreement. While part of him wanted to turn down the position, he understood that perhaps being in a role of leadership will force him to be more confident. If his muteness ended up being a problem, he could simply step down…

0000

"Congrats on being president," Ochako said to Izuku as the two were eating lunch together. Joining them were Tenya, Momo, and the girl with earphone jacks attached to her ears. Despite the fact that the two never interacted, the girl asked to sit with them, something everyone was fine with. After briefly introducing herself as Kyouka Jirou, the group began to silently eat, that is, until Ochako decided to bring up the election results.

'Thanks,' Izuku wrote on an index card. 'I'm surprised I received any votes in general. I personally voted for Iida and Yaoyorozu.'

"Ah, so you were the one who handed in that vote," Tenya stated. "Unfortunately, I couldn't count your vote due to the fact you voted for two people. My apologies. If it makes you feel better, I ended up voting for you.'

'Really?'

"I did as well," Momo mentioned to him. "Despite your condition, you showed exemplary leadership skills."

"Same here," Kyouka told him. "Speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask about your quirk. Yaoyorozu mentioned that you destroyed the zero pointer with a whisper, but when you were fighting Bakugo and Iida, you were shooting lasers from your hands. What's up with that?"

'My quirk has different attributes,' Izuku wrote down. 'The lasers you saw me use are a result of my ability to absorb electrons. I can use this to fly, increase my strength, shoot energy blasts, and make force fields. Apparently, I can manipulate matter to a small degree, but I never tried doing so. There's a limit as to how much I can absorb. Going over it causes my skin to burn. My quirk prevents me from speaking though, or else I'll release a massive amount of energy. According to the quirk specialists I've been seeing, that whisper I used on the zero pointer wasn't even close to what I can actually do. It's because of this I can't speak unless I want to destroy Japan with a word.'

The four students stared at Izuku with their eyes wide open. Such a bizarre yet lethal power was unheard of before.

"Holy shit, you could probably kill All Might if you wanted to," Kyouka said, causing Izuku to bashfully rub his head.

'I wouldn't be so sure of that…'

"To think I'm in the same class as someone of your caliber," Momo muttered under her breath. Izuku could've sworn there was some self doubt laced into her words "How is it that you didn't get a recommendation?"

"My quirk was downplayed for my safety," Izuku said. He never understood why though. Everytime he would ask his parents or the quirk specialists about it, they'd dodge the question. He was only recently given permission to share the voice part of his quirk, but only to classmates. Besides them, only his mom, the scientists, and Katsuki know the full range of his powers. Even then, Katsuki wasn't told how powerful Izuku's voice was. Surprisingly, the boy never egged him on about using his voice. It was strange, but welcomed.

"That makes sense," Tenya replied. "I have heard about people having their quirks undermined or hidden from the public due to their personal safety. It's why All Might still has his hidden."

"I guess so," Ochako stated, not really into the politics of quirks herself. "You know, I'm surprised you didn't vote for yourself Iida. You look like you'd want the position with your glasses and everything."

'I don't think that's how you should be judging people,' Izuku mentally sighed in his head, a statement which both Kyouka and Momo were thinking as well.

"I did, but I personally believe that being a hero requires knowing when you should take change and when you should allow others to take the lead. I personally believe Midoriya and Yaoyorozu will make better leaders than myself, so I acted accordingly."

"That's really cool," Ochako stated, her eyes gleaming in amazement.

"I'm glad you think so," Tenya bashfully said. "My older brother was the one who taught me this."

'You must admire your brother a lot,' Izuku wrote down.

"Indeed I do. My brother is my inspiration for being a hero."

"So he's a pro hero himself?" Kyouka asked, causing Tenya to freeze up.

"I was afraid people would treat me differently if they knew, but yes, my brother is the pro hero Ingenium," Tenya admitted. Izuku immediately recognized the name. While he wasn't in the top ten, he was a well respected hero has done more humanitarian work than any of them. The amount of people employed in his agency was also the highest out of any hero. "The name Ingenium is the name passed down by the Iida family. I hope to one day serve as the successor to my brother."

'I think you'll be great,' Izuku wrote. Before Tenya could thank him, the alarm systems started blaring, shocking everyone.

"Level Three Security Breach detected. All students are to evacuate outside in a swift and orderly manner."

Wasting no time, everyone in the cafeteria began fleeing the facility. Unfortunately, with how unorganized everyone was, it was nearly impossible to squeeze out.

"What's a Level Three Security Breach?" Tenya promptly asked an upperclassman that passed by him.

"It means someone infiltrated school grounds!" yelled the upperclassmen, "In my three years here, this has never happened before! We have to get out of here!"

"Sounds urgent," Momo stated as she stood up. "We should leave as well."

Turning around, Momo was about to join the cluster, only to stop when she felt Izuku tugging on her arm. Facing him, she saw him point to Kyouka who was covering her ears in agony. Understanding what he wanted from her, she quickly made a pair of earmuffs and handed it to the girl.

"Thanks," Kyouka mouthed as she put them on. Thankfully, they seemed to do the job as she no longer looked like she was in pain.

"Don't thank me, thank Midoryia," Momo mouthed back. "He was the one who noticed you were in trouble." In response, Kyouka shot Izuku a thumbs up, which he responded to by smiling.

"Geez, it's so tight here," Ochako wheezed as the crowd of students began to drown her. Seeing this made Izuku realize something needed to be done to control the mob trying to flood out the room. Glancing around, his brain went to work, trying to see if there was a way to calm everyone. Managing to take a brief peek out the window, Izuku was able to identify what triggered the alarm. Outside the school gates were the press, the same press who were attempting to get an interview with All Might earlier this morning. With the problem now identified, Izuku began thinking of solutions. He knew he could try having one of his friends quiet everyone down, but with all the pushing and shoving, there was no way he'd be able to effectively communicate with them. With that option out the window, he ended up realizing what he needed to do. Flying up, he shot himself towards the cafeteria exit and began charging up some energy. With a small snap, Izuku released it, creating an extremely loud popping sound. With all eyes now on him, he began writing.

'It's alright everyone, it's just the press,' the boy wrote. 'Please go back to whatever it was you were doing.'

With those in front receiving the message, they began passing it along to their peers. Eventually, everything was calm again.

"That was impressive Midoryia," Tenya congratulated his friend as everyone sat down again. "You were quite resourceful with your quirk."

'It was nothing.'

Kyouka rolled her eyes. "Well, you saved my ears from bleeding out and Uraraka from being trampled, so I wouldn't say it was nothing."

Instead of arguing, Izuku decided to get back to eating, understanding that simply accepting the compliment will help his confidence in the long run.

0000

The rest of the day went without a hitch. Other than receiving some recognition for his quick thinking, nothing special happened. Once Aizawa dismissed everyone, Izuku made a beeline towards the support lab, ready to begin his training.

"You wanna use the faux cities?" Power Loader asked the boy, not sure if he read that right. Izuku simply nodded in confirmation. "Huh, most don't bother using it, so I can book you in for a few sessions. How many you want?"

Wasting no time, Izuku took out a schedule he had made in advance. Reading it, Power Loader's eyes widened upon seeing how serious this kid was taking his training. Excluding Mondays and Fridays, he had requested usage of the faux cities everyday, including weekends throughout the entire school year. How he knew the school was open during the weekends he didn't know, but he was mighty impressed. Now, if it wasn't for the fact that the school owned six different faux cities, he'd have to deny the boy's request.

"Alrighty. When do you want to begin?"

'Now if you're not busy.' Izuku wrote.

"Well, my most problematic student went home, so I'm fine with supervising ya."

Izuku smiled. Operation increase confidence and power was about to commence…

0000

It wasn't long in the exam simulation when Izuku found his first robot. It was a one pointer and upon noticing him, it began to activate its weapons.

"PREPARE TO BE DEFEATED HERO!" The robot said as it took aim at Izuku. Staring it down, Izuku felt his nervousness swell up. He wanted to run, but stopped upon remembering what he was here for.

'No more running away. I need to do this.' Rushing in, Izuku began absorbing electrons, buffing his strength to the point where he could lift ten tons. Slamming the robot with a powerful punch, Izuku frowned as he watched it fly into the sky, him having an easy time doing so. 'Really? That was what I was afraid of? I could've destroyed it without a power boost.'

Smiling, Izuku began cracking his knuckles, confidence surging through him as he realized how much stronger he was compared to the robots. Searching for more robots, he easily disposed of any which dared to cross his path. One, two, even three pointers were sent flying throughout his onslaught of fists, kicks, and energy beams. He didn't even have to push himself that hard. When the simulation ended, he noticed that he didn't have any charred skin, something which he felt was a huge accomplishment in his own right.

'How was it?' Izuku asked Power Loader using an index card.

"If this were the actual test, you would've gotten eighty seven villain points," Power Loader replied, impressed by the boy. The boy in question was floored by such an announcement.

'Eighty seven?! That's more than Katsuki. Have I really been holding myself back this much?'

It was on that day that Izuku finally realized how much his doubts have been holding him back. No longer will he allow himself to be swallowed up by fear; he'll conquer them so he'll eventually rise to be the best hero ever. He knew the results wouldn't be instantaneous, but with enough training, he knows he'll eventually reach his goal.

0000

With the day having ended, Aizawa began making his way to Nezu's office. Usually, he would've made his way home by now so he could catch up on some sleep, but the principal told him he had some urgent matters to discuss.

The fact Nezu stated it was urgent was why he had made his way to the office as quickly as he did. The principal wasn't one who used the word lightly.

"Glad to see you made it here on time," Nezu stated. "Could you lock the door behind you?"

Aizawa raised an eyebrow at this, but complied anyways.

"Thanks."

Sitting down, Aizawa immediately began getting down to business. "What's so important that it involves you declaring it an urgent matter?"

"It involves Izuku Midoryia, the student whose quirk you couldn't erase."

The man was honestly confused now. "What about him?"

"Before we continue, do you know the history behind the first age of heroes?"

"I know enough."

"Well, I'm going to tell you anyways. Long before the age of quirks, people had superpowers. These people were divided into four groups; artificials, mutants, inhumans, and outsiders. Artificials are those who gained their superpowers through scientific means. Captain America is perhaps the greatest example of this. As you know, all forms of artificially granting powers have been lost after the world's greatest thinkers passed away. Second are the mutants. Mutants are the ancestors of quirks, disappearing during the Powerless Age before evolving into quirks. Funny enough, the mutants born have had the potential to be far more powerful than even All Might himself. Why quirks aren't this powerful now is unknown. Inhumans are almost identical to mutants, except they trace their origins to outside sources meddling with the genetic makeup of humans. All inhumans have enhanced physical traits alongside an individual power they can call their own. Like mutants, they disappeared during the Powerless Age, with only dormant inhuman genes existing, leaving behind their great city on the moon. Finally, there's the outsiders. They refer to those who gained powers outside the realm of science. Cosmic entities, aliens, and magical means are typically associated with this group. Again, they disappeared alongside the other groups. No one knows why."

Having heard this explanation, Aizawa wanted to get straight to the point. "What does this have to do with Midoryia?"

Smiling, Nezu pulled out a file and slid it to the teacher. "This file required me to use all my connections. The government has been guarding this file, alongside a handful of others, as if their lives depended on it."

Reading through the file, Aizawa's eyes curiously trailed the part where Izuku's quirk was explained. Immediately, he was disinterested since he had a basic grasp of what Izuku's quirk was. All it took though to grab his interest was for him to look at the print underneath his diagnosis. Under the word 'Superpower,' an admittedly cheesy name for his quirk, was the word Inhuman.

"Is this real?" Aizawa asked the prinicpal. "If it is, you know what this means, right?"

"I do," Nezu stated. "And that's why I plan on holding a meeting with him as soon as I can."

"Is it really the best decision to tell him?"

"It is. Funny enough..." As he said this, Nezu slid Aizawa another top secret file, this one detailing a different student in his class. "He's not the only one..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note 2: Here's Izuku's stats at the moment if you were curious :-). They will change as the story progresses.
> 
> Power: ?/5 (has yet to be accurately measured due to the immense power of his voice 
> 
> Speed: 5/5 A (is theorized to actually be faster, but his upper limits have yet to be tested)
> 
> Technique: 5/5 A (has had h2h combat training at the Q.T.F)
> 
> Intellect: 4/5 B
> 
> Cooperation: 5/5 A


End file.
